


Albus' Return

by AlbusGellertAlways



Series: GGAD in love [12]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Coming Out, M/M, Reincarnation, Romance, The Next Generation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 15:08:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17286371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlbusGellertAlways/pseuds/AlbusGellertAlways
Summary: Albus Severus Potter is having strange dreams where he has to duel with someone that he loves, but it's from someone else's point of view.  Could he really be Albus Dumbledore reincarnated?  And if so, has Gellert Grindelwald reincarnated with him?





	Albus' Return

Disclaimer:  Harry Potter and the rest belong to JKR, the genius who puts a tragic gay love story into a children’s book but hides it until the world can understand it a decade later.

A/N:  For plot purposes, I’m assuming that Harry didn’t know most of the details of what happened in Fantastic Beasts 2.  

Also, I’m ignoring some of the Cursed Child canon.

.~.

Albus Returns

.~.

It was the night before his children were to return to Hogwarts after a long summer at home.  Harry was lounging in the library, trying to decide which book to read before bed.  He loved his children, but he was looking forward to a break and rekindling his dwindling romance with his wife, who was often away on business.  Harry didn’t feel too bad, as he knew how much his children would love returning to Hogwarts.   Watching his children board the Hogwarts Express always made Harry nostalgic for his own days at Hogwarts.  He loved heading the Auror department with Ron, but it was usually long hours and the great responsibility of staying vigilant for the next Dark Lord weighed on him at times.  Perhaps one day he might take up Headmaster McGonagall on her offer to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.  That thought cheered Harry immensely.     

Harry was about to turn in for the night before a hesitant little voice asked, “Dad, can I talk to you for a second?”  
  
Harry turned to smile at his younger son, who reminded him of himself more than James ever could.  “Of course, Albus.  Do you want Mum to come too?  I think she’s upstairs.”  
  
Albus shook his head.  “No, just you.”

Harry noted how dejected Albus looked, the slumped shoulders and the faraway eyes.  This was never a good sign.  Albus wasn’t one for theatrics, so whatever it was he had to tell was sure to be substantial.  
  
“Alright.”  Harry led them upstairs to Albus’ bedroom and shut the door.   He took a seat on Albus’ bed, which was covered in a green Slytherin comforter.  The snake stared at Harry, who had to look away.   He didn’t mind that Albus had been sorted into Slytherin, but the symbol didn’t exactly call up fond memories.  “Now, what’s got you looking so down?”   
  
“You’re going to hate me,” Albus said sadly.   
  
“Nothing could make me hate you.”  Harry regarded his son, patting the spot next to him.  
  
Albus relented and took a seat on the bed next to his father.   He fidgeted with his hands, not sure where to put them. 

Harry held out a hand and Albus placed his right hand in his father’s, who squeezed it.

“Whatever it is, Albus, it’s going to be alright,” Harry promised.  “We’ll work through this together.”

Albus nodded, appreciating the lifeline that Harry was offering.  “I don’t how to tell you this, so I’ll just say it.  I think, er, rather I _know_ that I’m gay.”  
  
Harry nodded seriously at Albus.  “I don’t hate you, Albus.  At all.  Why do you say that you’re gay?”  
  
“When I look at other boys I have... feelings.”  Albus blushed.  “I think about wanting to kiss them.  It’s not like that when I look at girls.”  
  
“That’s fine.  Albus, I don’t see what the problem is,” said Harry, relieved that Albus wasn’t in some sort of real trouble.  “I love you, Albus, just the way you are.  Thank you for telling me.”  
  
“It really doesn’t bother you?” Albus asked, sounding anxious.  
  
“No,” Harry smiled.  “You know your mum and I have never cared about such things.  Look at our friends Luna and Katie.  They’ve been married for years and you know that we support them.”  
  
“I know,” said Albus.  “I wasn’t worried that you wouldn’t accept me.   I just figured you’d want me to carry on the family name.”

“Ah,” said Harry, understanding now.  He’d never understood the wizarding obsession with passing on family names, but that was because he’d been raised by muggles.  Apparently, Albus had picked it up somehow.  “So?”

“So.” Albus gestured wildly with his hands as his form dipped a little on the bed.  “If James never marries and have kids and let’s be honest, he’s too busy flitting from girl to girl ever settle down, the Potter name will die forever.”  Misery shone in Albus’ eyes.  “I know how important the Potter name is for you, Dad.  It’s a tangible connection to your parents.”  
  
Harry smiled at his son and affectionately ruffled his hair.  “That doesn’t really matter to me, Albus.  What matters is that you’re happy.  And besides, if you don’t marry a woman it doesn’t necessarily mean the Potter name will die.  You know that right after we defeated Voldemort, the ministry passed a law to allow wizarding gay marriage.  If you wish to marry a man when you’re of age, you can.”

Albus blushed.  “I hope so.  I’ve often dreamed of having a great love.”

Harry’s heart melted.  Out of his three children, Albus was the most sensitive and empathic.  Harry had always emphasized the power of love around his children, as this concept had been instilled in him by Professor Dumbledore.  It only made sense that someone like Albus wanted to have that deep connection with someone.

 “You can, Albus,” Harry assured him.  “You have options that people of the older generation didn’t have.  You can even have a muggle gay marriage in Britain, although it took the muggles a little longer to catch on to the idea.  It’s even possible that you could persuade your husband to take the Potter name.” 

“I don’t think his family would allow that,” Albus muttered under his breath.   
  
“Ah, there’s a particular boy that has caught your fancy?”  Harry grinned.  
  
Albus blushed.  “Maybe.  Yeah, actually, but you’ll really hate me this time.”

“Albus,” Harry sighed, rubbing his temples as if to ward off a headache.  “You need to have more faith in your father.  I’m not going to hate you.”  
  
“Fine,” Albus said calmly.  “It’s Scorpius Malfoy.”

“Oh,” said Harry, his eyes widening as he was unable to hide his frown.  “You have a crush on Draco’s son?  Is he as cruel to you as his father was to me?”  
  
“Oh no!” Albus insisted, a wistful look surfacing on his face as he spoke of Scorpius.  “He’s very kind. He goes out of his way to help muggleborns.  He’s very soft-spoken and he loves animals.  You’ll be happy to know he has top marks in school, as he’s very dedicated to academics.  He’s also my best friend.”  
  
“Then I approve.”  Harry relaxed and his frown disappeared, realizing this was a very different situation than the one between him and Draco all those years ago.  There had been a confession and a swift rejection, but Harry didn’t want to think about that.   He was married now, with three wonderful children.  “Have you told him yet?”  
  
“Dad!” Albus hissed.  “No!  We’re just friends.”

Harry chuckled.  “Alright.  There’s no rush.  I’m glad you told me, son.”  Harry stood up to leave, mentally patting himself on the back for being an amazing parent, but then Albus blurted out,  
  
“There’s more.  Do you still have time to talk?  We can do this another time if you’d rather.”  
  
Harry settled back down on Albus’ bed.  Albus had given him an out, but Harry wasn’t going to take it.  “I always have time for you, Albus.  I’m listening.”  
  
“Well, I’m having these confusing dreams,” Albus began.  
  
“Uh,” Harry colored.  He had really hoped he could skip this conversation, but no such luck.  “Don’t worry, those dreams are perfectly normal for your age.”  
  
“No, not like that!” Albus glared.  “ _Dad_.”  
  
Harry held up his hand in surrender, relieved.  “Sorry, I thought you were going in a different direction.”

Albus waved him off.  “Anyway, in the dream, I’m me but I look different.  I’m friends with this cute blonde boy that I’ve never met before.  He likes me, I can tell.  There was one dream when we kissed in a graveyard.  I liked that one.”  
  
Harry nodded.  “That doesn’t sound too confusing.”

“Then I had another dream that explains my birthmark.”  Albus held up his left hand, which had a slight scar across his palm.   “I made a blood pact with the boy that I loved.”

Harry’s blood ran cold.

“I’m guessing we made a lover’s pact to stay true to each other but I can’t be certain.  We both slit our hands, allowing our blood to mingle before it dripped into this silver pendant thing that he kept around his neck.” Albus expectantly looked over at Harry. “What do you think about that one?

“Blood pacts are made with dark magic, Albus,” Harry scolded, his heart starting to pound.   He had watched all three of his children very closely for signs of interest in dark magic, in hopes of stopping another Voldemort from rising.   “Why would you dream about that?”

“I don’t know, Dad.”  Albus frowned, put off by his father’s negative reaction.  “Maybe I shouldn’t tell you the rest.”

“No, please tell me,” said Harry.  Even if Harry wasn’t ready for his son to tell him certain things, he had to keep their line of communication open.   At least, that’s what all the wizarding parenting books said.  “I’m sorry, Albus.  I know you can’t control your dreams.  The mention of dark magic just startled me.  Please go on.”

Albus sighed.  “This is when it gets weirder.  The next dream I had was when my sister died.  It wasn’t Lily, it was someone else.  There was a lot of shouting and several spells were cast at once and then this poor girl ended up dead on the floor.  I felt like my insides had been gutted open by the loss and the guilt.  I wasn’t sure, but I thought there might be a slight chance that I killed her, but the boy from the first dream was there too and I think he had a hand in it.”

Harry thought this sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.  “Go on.”

“The next dream I had was when we’re older,” Albus continued.  “I’m facing off against a man, but somehow I know it’s the boy from the other dreams all grown up.  We’re engaged in a duel and-”

“Duel?” Harry whispered.  It couldn’t be what he was thinking of.  Could it?

“Yes, and I’ve never been so sad because I still love him but I have to capture him.”  Albus sighed and looked at Harry.   “I feel like these are memories but I’ve never met anyone in these dreams before.  Can you help me, Dad?”  
  
Harry hoped he was wrong because he wasn’t sure what to do if he was right.  But he had to check.  “Wait right there, Albus.  I’ll be right back.”  Harry raced downstairs to their vast library, using his wand to flick through the different book titles before he found the one he was looking for.  Then he raced back up the stairs with the book in hand.   
  
“Is this the man that you are in your dream?”  Harry held up the book, flipping through the pages before showing Albus the picture of a middle-aged wizard with glasses and auburn hair but deliberately covering the caption beneath it.  
  
“Yes, that’s me!” Albus said.  He cocked his head and looked innocently up at Harry.  “Who is that?”  
  
Harry was surprised that Albus couldn’t identify the picture, considering Dumbledore’s name came up frequently in the Potter home.  But then Harry supposed that many of the younger generation only knew what Dumbledore looked like when he was ancient.  “Don’t you remember the most important wizard duel of all time?  The one with the Dark Lord?”  
  
“I’m pretty sure I didn’t dream about you and Voldemort, Dad,” said Albus, giving him a funny look.  
  
Harry groaned.  Was that _really_ what the younger generation first thought of when they heard ‘most important wizard duel’?  “No, the other one.  Think chocolate frogs.”  
  
“Oh, right, Dumbledore versus Grindelwald,” Albus recited.  “What does that have to do with…”  Albus paled.  “No, it’s can’t be.”

Harry was suddenly assaulted by a memory of his own, one that took place a week before Albus’ birth.  Ginny had woken up in a cold sweat, shaking as she told Harry about her dream.   They’d been planning on naming their second son after Fred, as a tribute to Ginny’s deceased brother.  Harry told Ginny it was only fair, as they’d named the first one after his father.   But Ginny had told Harry that Fred had come to her in a dream and instructed her to name the baby Albus.   Harry went with it, adding that his middle name should be Severus so he’d be named after two great headmasters of Hogwarts.  Harry had never really given much thought to Ginny’s insistence on Albus’ name until now.  It would explain quite a bit.  

“Let me see the book,” Albus reached for it.   He flipped the page and found an adult Grindelwald scowling back at him.   “That’s him!  That’s Gellert, the man from my dream.  Dad, I think I’m the reincarnation of Albus Dumbledore,” Albus stated, voicing what Harry already suspected. 

“I don’t know, Albus,” Harry cautioned.  “We can’t know that for sure.”

“Why else would I have those dreams?  We even have the same name!” Albus exclaimed, excited now.  “Now I have a chance to do things over again.”

“Do you remember anything else about Dumbledore?”  Harry pressed.  “Do you remember being Headmaster of Hogwarts?”

Albus shook his head.  “No.  I don’t remember anything else, save for what I’ve dreamed.  But that’s the only thing that makes sense, Dad.”

“Let’s not get carried away, Albus.  Some things don’t fit,” said Harry.   “I was very close to Dumbledore in his last years and I never knew anything about him having romantic feelings for men, and certainly not Grindelwald.   The man was a dark wizard, Albus, a silver-tongued trickster.   The headmaster I knew could not have fallen for such an act.”

“The headmaster you knew once was a boy who may not have known better.”  Albus’ eyes grew wide.  “Wait.  How did I know that?”

“Alright, say you’re right,” said Harry, still unnerved by the whole thing.   “That means that if _you’re_ here, Grindelwald is probably here as well.  I’ll need to find him before he grows into another threat.  If only there was some way of identifying him,” Harry mused.  He grabbed the book back and stared at Grindelwald’s picture.  “Wait, the eye!  Grindelwald had heterochromia.”

“Let me see that again,” said Albus, once again taking the book.  “Oh, you’re right,” Albus said in a small voice.

“If Grindelwald reincarnated with this trait, it wouldn’t be too difficult to find him.   I’d have to run a search of all magical children born with heterochromia through the ministry database,” Harry mused.

“Dad,” Albus said.  “I think that-”

“Not now, Albus,” Harry muttered.  “Of course he may not have been reborn in Britain.  We believe that Grindelwald was born in either Germany or Austria.  I’d have to cross-reference my search with the German and Austrian ministries in order to-”

“Dad,” Albus said a bit more urgently. 

“What?” Harry said absently.

“You’re going to hate me.”

“I thought we’ve already established twice that I’m not going to hate you.”

Albus winced before blurting out, “I know that Scorpius Malfoy has heterochromia.  He wears a contact to cover it up.”

“ _What_?” Harry cried.  “Are you telling me you have a crush on a boy that might have Gellert Grindelwald’s soul?”  He knew he was reacting badly but Harry couldn’t help it.   The thought of his sweet son at the mercy of that monster triggered Harry’s protective instincts.   “Albus, you haven’t studied Grindelwald in depth yet in History of Magic.  You don’t know all of his terrible crimes against muggles and wizardkind alike.  I can’t allow you to be around someone like that.”

“If Scorpius does have Gellert’s soul, he doesn’t remember it,” Albus countered it.  “Or perhaps he does now.   He could be having the dreams, same as me.  But either way, I can save him this time.  I won’t let him turn to dark magic and hurt people.”

“Bugger it all,” said Harry, shaking his head.  “This is a lot to process.  I think we might need to give the Malfoys a visit and clear this up once and for all.”

Albus’ eyes lit up at that.  “Yes!”

“Just let me deal with his father,” Harry cautioned.  “Draco may not be very happy to see us.”  Harry held out his hand to Albus while the other hand clutched the history book.  “We’ll travel by side-along apparition.”  

Albus took his father’s hand and with a crack, they left the Potter house.

.~.

Seconds later, they reappeared just outside the Malfoy Manor.  Tall hedges surrounded them on both sides as Harry and Albus approached the massive iron gate.  This time the mansion didn’t seem quite as intimidating, Harry thought, which was most likely due to the sunshine peeking through the clouds and the lack of Death Eaters.  He recalled Bellatrix Lestrange’s ‘warm welcome’ to the manor last time he visited.  Harry still hadn’t forgiven Bellatrix for killing Sirius, which was a wound that would always smart.  As the gate swung open, Harry tried to let those old memories go.  Today, they were here for Albus and to get some answers.

Harry smiled at his son before they stepped through the gate and headed towards the mansion.  To Harry’s surprise, the front door opened to reveal a smartly dressed Draco all in black.

“Potter, what are you doing here?” Draco asked. 

Harry noticed that Draco’s voice lacked the venom that it had held twenty years ago, which he appreciated.  

“Albus has some questions that need answering,” said Harry as they stepped inside the foyer, which had black and white checkered marble squares.

"Hello, Albus,” said Draco, smiling at the boy, to Harry’s surprise.  “I’ve heard a lot about you.  Apparently, you and my son have grown very close.  I am grateful he has such a friend.”

“Actually we’re mainly here to see Scorpius,” Albus said, looking around expectantly for some sign of the blonde boy.

“Oh?” Draco nodded.  “He’s in his room.  He hasn’t been sleeping very well lately.”

Albus and Harry exchanged a knowing glance.

“I’ll send a servant to fetch him.”  Draco ordered one of the house elves to bring Scorpius to them.  “Please, come inside.”

Draco led them to an enormous sitting room.  A large portrait of a snake rested over the mantle.  Harry estimated the ceiling was at least three or four stories high.   While the Potters weren’t hurting for money, the Malfoy estate put their home to shame in terms of sheer size.  Albus and Harry took a seat in the tall armchairs near the fire.  Draco sat across from them. 

“Is Scorpius in trouble?”  His father asked. 

“Not exactly,” said Harry.  “We think we might have the reason why your son hasn’t been sleeping so well, as the same thing is happening to Albus.”

A few moments went by, an awkward silence descending among them.  Then they heard a small voice ask,

“Albus?” Scorpius Malfoy entered the room dressed in green pajamas, his eyes lighting up after seeing the Potter boy.

“Scorpius!” Albus beamed at the Slytherin.   “I’ve missed you.”

“Me too,” Scorpius admitted before he noticed Harry’s presence.  “Did I do something wrong?” Scorpios asked nervously, glancing over at Harry, who couldn’t hold back his frown.

“Now why would you assume that?” Harry asked.

“Sometimes I just feel like I’ve done something horrible, but I don’t know what it is.”  Scorpius shook his head.  “I know that sounds stupid.”

“Not at all,” said Albus.  “Sometimes I feel the same way.”  The boys exchanged wry smiles.

“Scorpius, we have a few questions for you,” Harry said gently.

“Alright,” said the boy.   “How can I help?”

Harry noted that the boy sounded sincere.  He couldn’t detect any presence of dark magic, but the world had been fooled by Grindelwald before. 

“I’ve been having these weird dreams lately,” Albus began.  

Scorpius’ eyes grew wide.  “Really?”

“Yes.  I’ve dreamed that I was a different person.  In the dream, I knew this boy and we were,” Albus blushed.  “We were in love.”

“Go on,” Scorpius breathed.  A blush began to surface on his pasty white cheeks.

“Then there was one where my sister died and another when the boy and I dueled when we were much older.”  Albus stared at his friend.  “Are you having any dreams like that?”

Scorpius glanced over at Draco.   “I don’t think I should say.”

“You may answer the question,” said Draco.  He turned to Harry.  “All of this is news to me.”

Harry nodded.  “I as well.  Albus only just told me.  Scorpius, please continue."

“Yes, I am having the same dreams,” Scorpius admitted.  “I too am a different person in my dreams, but I don’t know who.”

Harry brought the history book out, flipping to the page with Grindelwald’s picture, covering the caption.  “Is this the man that you are in your dreams?”

Scorpius nodded.  “Who’s that?”

Draco glanced at the page and then glared at Harry.  “You can’t think…”

“Who is that?” Scorpius repeated.

Harry removed his hand to uncover the name.

“Gellert Grindelwald?”  A horrified Scorpius glanced over at his father, and then Harry and Albus.  “Why would I dream about him?”

“I think you know,” said Albus, giving Scorpius a knowing look.

“N-no, I can’t be,” Scorpius stammered.  “I can’t be him.  He killed so many people.”

“Scorpius, I believe that I’m the reincarnation of Albus Dumbledore,” said Albus.  “And if you’re having the same dreams from Gellert’s point of view…”

“This is ridiculous,” Draco glared.   “How dare you accuse my son of such a thing?”

“Show them your hand,” Albus said quietly.

A trembling Scorpius held up his right hand, which had a horizontal scar on the palm. 

Albus raised his left hand, which looked identical.   

“We made a blood pact in our previous life,” Albus informed Draco.  “For some reason, we carried the scars into this life.”

“That doesn’t prove anything,” said Draco, crossing his arms as he considered their claim.  “It could be a coincidence.”

“Dad, I have heterochromia,” Scorpius said softly.  “I know you told me to cover it up, but I think it’s significant now.”  Scorpius used his wand to remove the blue contact, showing off his mismatched eyes.   “It’s not as pronounced as Grindelwald’s is in the picture, but it is there.   We even both have it in the right eye and you’ve told me there’s no history of heterochromia on either side of our family.”

Draco’s stomach clenched, remembering the healer’s advice all those years ago.  Cover up his heterochromia so his son wouldn’t be associated with the dark lord Grindelwald.   Draco had forgotten all about that conversation until now.

“This is a major coincidence, Draco,” Harry said gently.

But Draco shook his head.  “I’d need incontrovertible evidence to believe this silly claim, Potter.”

Albus stared at Scorpius, unable to hide the longing in his eyes.  To his delight, he found that longing reflected back. 

“Albus?”  Scorpius asked, looking deep into Albus’ eyes.  “Is it really you?”

“Gellert?” Albus tentatively approached the boy. 

“I think so,” said Scorpius with a shiver.

“Give me your hand,” said Albus.

Scorpius held out his hand with the scar and Albus did the same.  Albus intertwined their fingers, causing both himself and Scorpius to gasp at the pleasant tingling sensation.

“What in the name of Merlin?” Draco muttered but Harry shushed him.

A red swirl of magic encircled their clasped hands.  Then a silver pendant appeared, floating between them.

Scorpius grabbed it with his other hand.

Then the boys reluctantly untangled their hands.   Then Albus examined his hand, which was completely healed.

“My scar is gone!” Albus exclaimed.  Sure enough, when Scorpius held up his palm, his scar was missing as well.

Scorpius examined the pendant, turning it over in his fingers before glancing down at the top.  “Is this proof enough for you?”  Scorpius showed his father the 'G' and the 'D' that were interlocked, inscribed into the pendant.    

The boys happily embraced as Draco’s shoulders slumped, resigned to the truth.   He glanced at Harry, who could only shrug.

Then the boys looked back at their fathers, as if to say, what do we do now?

.~.

The End

A/N:  I really want someone to continue this!  I don’t have time, as I’m working on Closer Than Brothers.  I even alluded to Draco/Harry if you wanted to go in that direction.  If you are interested, please say so in the comments below.   


End file.
